Mary Boleyn was the mistress of two kings, Francois I of France and Henry VIII of England, and sister to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. In this astonishing and riveting biography, Alison Weir’s extensive research gives a new and detailed portrayal, in which she recounts that, contrary to popular belief, Mary was entirely undeserving of her posthumous notoriety as a great whore.

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Mary Boleyn was the mistress of two kings, Francois I of France and Henry VIII of England, and sister to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. In this astonishing and riveting biography, Alison Weir’s extensive research gives a new and detailed portrayal, in which she recounts that, contrary to popular belief, Mary was entirely undeserving of her posthumous notoriety as a great whore.

In a word: DULL. When a long biography starts out by telling you that very little factual information is known about its subject, I guess you should know what to expect: a lot of repetition (to the point of irritation), endless debunking of what others have stated as fact, and vague speculations about what "may have" happened, been thought, or been felt. The result was a real bore. The writing is flat and, again, repetitive, not only in details but in phrasing, and the chronology is fractured. There is so little focus as she jumps between persons peripherally related to May's story that at times I even forgot that I was supposedly reading a biography of Mary Boleyn. I kept thinking that Weir was finally running out of Tudor-era women to write about.

A number of readers have defended Weir's tedious style, claiming that it is simply because the book is not fiction but rather "academic." As an academic specializing in Tudor England, I can attest to the fact that an academic book can indeed be an exciting read--as have been several of Weir's previous biographies.

It's sad when the best thing about a promising book by an author whose books, on audio and in print, you've previously loved is the reader.

I adore Alison Weir's biographies. She does painstaking first hand research from primary sources and is unfailingly accurate in her representations of historical figures. This biography exposes a lot of fallacies passed along as fact for generations by less committed biographers. Weir tackles the problems of incomplete, damaged, and decayed records with aplomb and should be commended for refusing to pass along the information far easier to find in secondary and tertiary sources and instead doing her own research to obtain new and more accurate conclusions. Weir is a phenomenal biographer and a talented writer. The narrator, Maggie Mash, does a lovely job of making the figures come alive and I will be looking at more of her books in the future. I sincerely enjoyed this book and look forward to more of Alison Weir's fiction and nonfiction.

If you don't know what a Historiography is, you're probably not going to like this work. This is not really a story, but an analysis of past bios and surviving documentation. If real history interests you and how historians and time interprets people then this is for you. If you want a seamless romantic story, historical fiction is what you should read.

I enjoyed Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth, both by Weir, very much, but this biography is simply boring. I think I lasted about four hours in to the narration before I deleted it from my iPod. I wish I could get my credit back!

I have loved Allison Weir’s other books and was so looking forward to this new one, however the beginning is dull as dirt; do I really need pages and pages and pages of speculation of when Mary was born and still don’t ever get an answer. She starts out saying she wants to write a definitive biography of Mary but there is a lot of; well this is what is known, not known, speculated, but I still can’t give you any answer, so why am I reading if you’re not going to tell me anything?

I have to say I like Alison Weir’s fiction better than her non-fiction this one she just seems to be calling out other historians mistakes but she doesn’t really give the correct information just what others have said is wrong.

This did get better in the second half and kept my interest as I said I am a huge fan of Alison Weir however, this one won’t be up there with my favorites of her books.

I think this book should have been a biography of the Boleyn family there is so much more about Mary’s father, brother, sister and of course Henry VIII. I think I wouldn’t feel like she’s padding the book if it told you in the beginning that this is a biography of a family because we sure don’t really find much out about Mary, what does all Henry’s other affairs and illegitimate children have to do with a bio of Mary?

I am sorry as much as I like Alison Weir this one just didn’t do it for me I know she is a great researcher and that’s what this book is lots and lots of research told in a very textbook like manner, I think I will stick to Weir’s historical fiction rather than her non-fiction.

If you are new to Alison Weir don’t start here, start with Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey then The Lady Elizabeth I loved these 2 books, this one not so much.

I must give props to the undeniable amount of research Weir does. And the rating on this has to do with the fact that this book does not answer any questions about Mary and was about so many other people than her and there is a lot of guess work still going on. There is just too much, must have, maybe have, could have, and not enough really did!

Maggie's narration was well done but didn't save me from being bored to tears at times.

Though Alison Weir is always a little extreme in her views, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. It is easy to delineate between fact and the author's opinions. It was good to learn about Mary, as she has become a popular figure without really being better understood. The narrator was fine, though halfway through her voice changes so much that for a couple of minutes I thought they had replaced her.

Where does Mary Boleyn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Enjoyed the history; reader interfered with enjoyment

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mary Boleyn

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This is the second time I've listened to a book with Maggie Mash as reader. When she switches voices for a quote from some historical male, she only obscures the words. Sounds like an old crone, instead of a different character. Her regular reading voice is very pleasant and easy to listen to. I would be pleased if she developed a different male voice, or better "quote" voice.

in the beginning the narrator spends a great deal of time spewing out dates and never really giving the one date you want to know! her birth date! and continues to be a chronilogical break down or walk threw of still more suspect rather then facts... disappointed that it didn't neither to validate the movies time line or establish a better time line of events.... not what i was hoping for at all...

I gained very little actual information about Mary Boleyn the individual, perhaps because there IS very little known about her as a person. Alison Weir's attempt to write factually about Mary falls into the

What could Alison Weir have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Made it a short story!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Maggie Mash?

I found the parts where Maggie tried to make it obvious that she was reading a quotation, really amusing. Her voice lowered dramatically and she changed her usual accent. It was the only time this book entertained me and that soon became tedious too.

I have enjoyed other biographies by this author who usually combines scholarship with lively narrative. This book veers more to the former with a lot of genealogical lineages and historical detail less suited to an audiobook. After a slow start with too much turgid detail about Mary's family history the book becomes an eye-opening account of Mary Boleyn's life and dismisses many false beliefs about her reputation and gives a different slant on the turbulent Tudor period.
The reader is very good and helps the book crack along, despite all the detailed information and scholarly argument against other biolographer's works.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Jacqueline

Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

6/21/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Mostly conjecture"

What would have made Mary Boleyn better?

Having more actual facts about Mary Boleyn and not having every quote spoken in annoying voices.

What will your next listen be?

I'm going to steer clear of new historical non fiction around the Tudor Dynasty. I don't think there's much new information to be had.

I'll be looking for summer reading now :)

Would you be willing to try another one of Maggie Mash’s performances?

Not sure. The non-stop quoting in ridiculous voices drove me nuts from the start. If there are books out there without the relentless quoting then I'd he happy to give it a go.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment and sometimes anger.

I was expecting a full bio of interesting facts about Mary's childhood and her relationships etc. However, the most used word throughout this book is "probably" along with others of that ilk (possibly, maybe, assume etc) and I ended up howling every time it was spoken.

The thing that annoys me most is that this feels like someone just turning out another "Tudor" volume because of the public's incessant interest when really there is no story to tell - certainly nothing we haven't learned from other sources.

And I felt like a sucker for falling for it.

Any additional comments?

After listening to this its clear that there is not an awful lot known about Mary Boleyn at all (which was the most interesting fact the book delivered to be honest).

Misleading and deliberately entitled to encourage people with an interest in Tudor history to buy it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Lyra

Portugal

4/7/13

Overall

"A story about how there is no story to tell"

I usually like Alison Weir's books, this one is a bit of a disappointment as it mostly seems to be about fact that there isn't much to tell and that what there is is mostly speculation and conjecture.

Maggie Mash is a good reader though and, personally, I think the readers are quite important - still a good reader cannot make a bad book into a good one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

stewart

6/24/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great book "

a fascinating insight into Mary boleyn, not the person I had been led to believe, another great book by Alison weir, well worth a listen.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Miss

6/6/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good Production Great Story"

The subject matter is really interesting and this production tells it well. Very intertaining, entertaining, educational and enjoyable.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Charmaine

Colchester, United Kingdom

4/20/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Very interesting"

Considering how little information there is on Mary, Alison has done a pretty good job indeed. It was very nice to get to know more about Mary herself as well as new information on her contemporaries as descendants that I hadn't known before. Maggie, as usual, was excellent

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Marjo

Pilpala, Finland

4/10/13

Overall

"Enjoyable listen of a interesting book"

As a "Tudor time fan" I often check what's available on the subject. Alison Weir writes an interesting story and gives much information in an easy-to-listen manner. So much fiction has been written on Anne Boleyn and her sister that it is refreshing to come upon a carefully researched book that not only tells the story but gives background and opinions on many other versions of it. Maggie Mash reads the book in a clear, beautiful voice which is a delight to listen to. I'm sure to check what else she's read!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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